Nationwide protests over police violence, after the death of George Floyd, continued to escalate Saturday night. At least 25 cities imposed curfews to try to keep protests, some of which became violent, off the streets. States called up their National Guards. In cities around the country, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas. Some protesters threw glass bottles, stones, and bricks.
Scenes from Saturday night’s protests across the country
It was another night of nationwide protest over George Floyd’s death.
Libby Nelson was Vox’s editorial director, politics and policy, leading coverage of how government action and inaction shape American life. Libby has more than a decade of policy journalism experience, including at Inside Higher Ed and Politico. She joined Vox in 2014.
Floyd died in Minneapolis on Monday after a police officer, who was charged with murder on Friday, pinned Floyd’s neck to the ground with his knee for nearly 9 minutes while Floyd pleaded for air. Across the country, Floyd’s death has become a symbol of police violence and inequality. And the protests are playing out against the backdrop of a pandemic that has disproportionately affected black Americans.
Many protests started out peacefully. But as the night continued, violence erupted from both protesters and police — and in some cases, the police violence was unprovoked, according to reporters on the scene.
A police SUV drove into a crowd of protesters in Brooklyn
Videos widely circulated on social media showed a New York Police Department SUV driving into a crowd of protesters. Mayor Bill de Blasio offered only mild condemnation, saying, “It is a troubling video, and I wish they hadn’t done that, but we have to be clear ... they were being surrounded by a violent crowd,” according to Gloria Pazmino, a reporter for NY1.
Police fired tear gas, rubber bullets, and other projectiles
In Washington, DC, some protesters attempted to scale temporary security barricades set up in front of the White House. Police fired clouds of tear gas and rubber bullets.
Police also fired tear gas at protesters in Minneapolis — without provocation in at least one case, according to MSNBC’s Ali Velshi:
In Denver, police fired tear gas as protesters threw fireworks, according to Denver Post reporter Saja Hindi:
In Cincinnati:
In San Antonio:
In Tampa, Florida:
In Los Angeles:
In Dallas:
The Geneva Convention bans tear gas in international warfare, although it’s explicitly allowed in domestic policing situations; in the short term, it causes painful symptoms, and “we don’t know much about the long-term effects, especially in civilian exposure,” a tear gas expert told Vox in 2014.
Police arrested journalists in Minneapolis and New York
In Minneapolis, a photographer for local news organization WCCO was struck by a rubber bullet, forced onto the ground by police, and arrested, according to the news outlet. Police also fired tear gas at journalists who had identified themselves as media, according to LA Times reporter Molly Hennessy-Fiske:
In Brooklyn, police arrested a Huffington Post reporter:
These aren’t the first arrests of journalists during the ongoing protests: CNN’s Omar Jimenez was arrested on live TV earlier in the week.
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